Mornings
by kiln
Summary: AlexMarissa. How I believe their relationship would have developed and progressed had it not come to such a premature end.
1. Default Chapter

**Mornings**

Alex was the first to awaken that morning, as those small slits of early morning light slowly crawled across her face. For a time she found herself content to just watch the slight, chestnut-haired girl beside her, smiling at the other girl's peaceful, unconscious motions. Smiling. Perhaps she hadn't quite noticed it until now, but being around Marissa seemed to provoke that reaction more often than not, noting how thoroughly unconcerned the other girl seemed with anything not directly relating to that specific moment in time. Gone was the pervasive tension she had witnessed the night of Marissa's awkward, and, ultimately, disastrous attempt at bonding with Lindsey, the night that...

Alex shook herself from her reverie. Every nerve of her body and every receptor in her brain cried out to her to stay in bed and curl up next to the girl beside her, to absorb the warmth and presence of the beautiful sleeping figure. Finally summing up a truly heroic amount of willpower, the blonde girl eventually managed to get her feet on the ground and groggily walk over to the shower, but not before leaning over the slim brunette girl and placing a single chaste kiss on those gorgeous lips.

Marissa awoke to the faint sound of running water, somewhat relieved that she had the opportunity to gather her thoughts while Alex was in the shower. There is a halcyon haze to the morning, those few beautiful moments intersecting dream and consciousness. It's something not many people took the time to appreciate nowadays. Marissa did. As she shook off the last remnants of the night, Marissa languidly turned her attention to the clock opposite the bed, noting that it was nearly noon, prompting a bemused sigh from the girl, who was probably at that very moment missing what was sure to be a rousing treatise on the finer points of Aztec society. Not that this would have ordinarily bothered her much, but given the circumstances it seemed even more insignificant than usual. She had many years ahead of her to ponder the past; it was the present she needed to figure out now.

For longer than she cared to remember Marissa had been so confused, not just of her relationship with Alex, but of everything, to the point that she scarcely knew what role she would unwillingly be stepping into with each coming week. She felt ignored, isolated, like a bit-player in her own life, a comical parody of herself, marginalized by the very people she should have felt closest to. Growing up in a place like Newport Beach, it was easy to become detached and cynical, and Marissa played her hand well, acting the part of the disaffected, pretty rich girl to a T. It was a styptic. The bleeding stops, but the wound remains, raw and just waiting to be split open at the slightest disturbance. Inside she was as fragile as the land she lived on, but a facade with no entrance would fool anyone... except for Alex.

With Alex, the excuses, the apologies, the artificial smiles that had so carelessly slipped past her lips as of late completely vanished, replaced by that dizzy but content serenity so well known by all struck by young love. Love. Marissa wasn't quite certain that she cared to ponder the implications of that word at that very moment, but she was rather assured of one thing: there was no better person to explore them with than Alex.

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Short, I know. Further chapters will be longer. No guarantees apropos the speed with which said chapters will arrive, but they'll get there... 


	2. A Day at Home

"'morning, sleeping beauty." Alex grinned broadly at her statement, acutely aware of the fact that she may never come across another moment so precisely perfect to use that phrase in.

The other girl managed to croak out a dreamy "Hey" by way of response, realizing that she had fallen asleep again while waiting for Alex to finish her shower. Beginning a wide stretch, Marissa felt her arms envelope a noticeably warm and very awake Alex, who was now in the process of positioning herself comfortably atop the other girl. Alex placed a hand on her girlfriend's cheek, carefully brushing aside an errant strand of beautiful brunette hair before closing the last distance between them.

The feeling of Alex's lips against hers was a sensation Marissa was still finding herself becoming accustomed to. It wasn't merely the newness of their relationship, or even that Alex was a girl; rather, it was that she had never been kissed quite like that before. A kiss is always more than a kiss; it can be an expectation, a hope, a desire, a catharsis. It can be all or none of the above. Marissa knew that Alex's kisses were more than kisses, but as the slim blonde girl's tongue found its way past her parted lips, Marissa found herself suddenly not as much in the mood to continue pontificating on the nature of kisses. Alex's kisses meant that she was here, right now. In that moment, in any moment, that was all that mattered.

Finally parting for want of oxygen, the two girls collapsed side-by-side, allowing a comfortable near-silence to descend upon the moment. Deep, erratic breathing and the steady rhythm of chests in need of air the only salient reminders of the passion the two girls had just shared. Knowing that not all silences need be broken, the girls drew closer, allowing a few brief but passionate kisses before settling in next to one another, simply taking in the presence of one another.

Finally concluding that 2:30 was a suitable time to begin preparing the most important meal of the day, Marissa and Alex set about preparing a hearty breakfast to compensate for the numerous meals they had already missed that day. Even Alex partook in the feast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, French toast, and waffles, writing the meal off as "not technically breakfast" given the late hour, prompting an amused eyeroll from the other girl.

"So, what do you wanna do today,"Marissa inquired, taking a bite of her eggs.

"Hmmmmmmm..." Melodramatically attempting to appear deep in thought, Alex finally replied, "You mean _besides _skipping work, taking you back to bed, and possibly never leaving?"

Taking the playful punch to the arm from Marissa as an affirmative, Alex took a quick glance up at the clock before formulating a response. "Well... I guess I should probably be getting to work pretty soon...," the blonde-haired girl drawled mournfully before adding, "Wanna come?"

"Actually, I was thinking about going to see my mom today, make sure she hasn't burst a blood vessel or something worrying about me. Lord knows that woman doesn't need another excuse to be a walking ball of unresolved stress."

"Mm, sounds like fun," came the sarcastic quip.

"Well... I was going to stop by Summer's on the way...," Marissa added in defense.

"Oh?" A suddenly much more interested Alex asked. It's not that she was desperate to make their relationship public or anything like that, but it needed to come out eventually...

"Yeah... hey, I should probably get going, and you need to get to work, so...," Marissa quickly rattled off the words before placing a quick kiss on Alex's lips and heading for the door.

"Hey, Marissa, I'll see you tonight, though, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Marissa smiled and closed the door, and the two girls went their separate ways, for the moment...

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Thanks a ton for all the feedback guys, I _really _appreciate it. Keep it coming! Next chapter should be up in a couple days. 


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